Austin and Bailey form impressive 1-2 punch

They played together at West Virginia and lit up the scoreboard in the high-flying Mountaineers offense. Here they are again, wide receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey as teammates on the Rams.

Austin was selected on the first round with the eighth overall choice, while Bailey was picked in the third round. Last season, they combined for 37 receiving touchdowns with Bailey scoring 25.

Both were impressive in the rookie minicamp, while keeping in perspective the fact they were going against rookies who were mostly undrafted free agents and those in camp on a tryout.

The two roomed together and helped each other with the playbook.

"You've just got to stay in your playbook and when you get out here, don't worry about messing up," Austin said.

Bailey said, "This is something I've been waiting for my whole life. So I definitely had butterflies stepping out on the field. But once I got in a little groove, I was able to relax and just play my game."

Rams coach Jeff Fisher was impressed with how both players did during the first practices of their NFL career.

Fisher said, "Smart, competitive, they're very well-coached. They did a nice job at West Virginia coaching them with the little detail things - the release on the line of scrimmage, route running. So they're probably ahead of most from a first-impression standpoint, which is really encouraging for us.

"They're both learning, and we're just going to keep dumping offense on them so they can keep being productive over the next couple of weeks."

Prior to the draft, the Rams had private workouts with both players, and Fisher noticed that each supported the other during the workout.

"We drafted both of them, not because they went to the same school or the same program, but because they were on our board at the right time when we picked," Fisher said. "It so happens that they went to the same school and they're good friends and they're very competitive and they get along and they help each other. We saw that at the workout. They were encouraging each other at the workout, and they worked out individually. They love the game."

Bailey said it's nice to be with Austin as they step up to this level. He said, "That's a luxury, actually, to be here with a familiar face. Somebody I played with for four years, and we get to experience it all together. That's a great feeling. We get to push each other and just continue with what we were able to do at West Virginia. So it's very helpful."

But the familiarity and friendship won't extend to their living arrangement. Asked if the two plan to live together in St. Louis, Austin said, "No, we're definitely not living together. He's going to have his house and I'm going to have mine. We'll probably, definitely, live close to each other, but no we're not living with each other. I didn't live with him in college, so I'm not living with him in the league right now."

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NFL Team Report - St. Louis Rams - NOTES, QUOTES

--Rams coach Jeff Fisher explained during the rookie minicamp why he has decided not to have a mandatory veterans minicamp this year.

Said Fisher, "After going through the experience last year, I just felt like we could get by with the OTAs. We'll have 10 OTAs and we are also permitted to have a three-day mandatory minicamp. I thought it was important because of the commitment that they made to have a week off. They come in and work for four or five weeks then come in and take a break for the vets that way we can focus on the rooks. And then it just didn't leave us time for the minicamp.

"I guess I'm just kind of old-fashioned. It's a long day. In the offseason, I don't think those things are necessary and particularly it relates directly to the commitment they made to the offseason program. They are here every day, they come in early, stay late, they have fun and they're determined."

Imbedded in that is the fact the team has had 100-percent attendance since the offseason program began April 15.

Fisher concluded, "I feel like we can get done what we need to get done in the offseason program using phase one, the phase two skill development days which we are doing now and the 10 OTAs. I feel like we can get everything installed. This is the second year in the system now so we can get it installed. They deserve the break in mid-June and they will come back in July and we'll continue to reinstall."

--Tackle Rodger Saffold made his first public comments since the Rams signed left tackle Jake Long in the first week of free agency in March. There was speculation Saffold had asked to be traded, and coach Jeff Fisher said Saffold didn't return calls after Long was signed.

Saffold has played left tackle in his first three seasons in the league, and is entering the final year of his contract. It is expected he will now move to right tackle.